United States EPA Scientists take stand against fluoridation of
drinking water

July 15, 1997

The National Federation of Federal Employees, (NFFE), Union of Government
scientists of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington
DC, voted unanimously to co-sponsor a California Initiative to ban
fluoridation. Their statement on 2 July, 1997 reads:

"Our members review of the body of evidence over the last eleven years,
including animal and human epidemiology studies, indicate a causal link
between fluoride/fluoridation and cancer, genetic damage, neurological
impairment and bone pathology."

The Union membership are the toxicologists, chemists, physical scientists,
statisticians, biologists, engineers, attorneys and other professionals at
Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington DC. The members
are responsible for evaluating technical and scientific knowledge in areas
that lie at the core of all EPA's scientific and technical determinations,
with specific responsibilities under the US Safe Drinking Water Act.

According to NFFE; "... the health and welfare of the public is not served
by the addition of this substance (fluoride) to the public water supply...
for which there is virtually no evidence of significant benefits... and
substantial evidence of adverse effects."

For more than a decade, the professionals directly responsible for
assessing the scientific information relating to fluoride have protested
EPA management conclusions and "independent" contractor reviews, which the
Union members allege were performed by "hired guns". After numerous
attempts to correct EPA management conclusions that were not supported by
available facts, the Union attempted to join a lawsuit against their own
employer in 1986, citing "fraudulent alterations of data and negligent
omission of fact to arrive at predetermined Agency political positions
regarding fluoride."

Dr. Wm. L. Marcus, Senior Science Adviser, Standards and Compliance
Division in EPA's Office of Drinking Water was fired for a 1990
whistle-blowing memo calling for a review of the cover-up of the National
Toxicological Program study that shows fluoride is a "probable human
carcinogen". That finding alone would prohibit the addition of fluoride to
the public water supply. Although Dr. Marcus won his whistle-blower
lawsuit, with punitive damages, and returned to work at the EPA, the
classifications were never reviewed.

PENNSYLVANIA has rejected a "Mandatory Fluoridation Bill" 1989-1993 and
again in the period July 18, 1996 to November 30, 1996. The threat of
another bill has been announced in Harrisburg this month.

Fluoride is a cumulative, protoplasmic poison. We excrete about 50% of the
fluoride we ingest. The rest is stored, mainly in the bones and other
tissues of the body. Fluoride is ubiquitous in the environment - we ingest
it from food, beverages, toothpaste, mouth rinses, drops, tablets,
medicines, pesticides, herbicides and from the air we breathe. Evidence
shows that the population is ingesting much more fluoride than the "safe
levels" recommended by the Department of Health.

The US Food and Drugs Administration issued a directive in April 1997 that
fluoride toothpaste and other fluoride products must carry warnings; for
example, on toothpaste tubes and packaging: "If you accidentally swallow
more than used for brushing, seek professional help or contact a poison
control center immediately."

** This warning is currently being down-played by members of the American
Dental Association (who receive massive sums in "endorsements" of fluoride
products) and by some local poison control centers in the United States.

In 1994, the World Health Organization warned: "Dental and public health
administrators should be aware of the total fluoride exposure in the
population before introducing any additional fluoride program for caries
prevention."

** This warning is being completely ignored! Moreover, attempts to again
compel Pennsylvania to Mass Medicate our Commonwealth's drinking water must
be outlawed for the protection of the Public Health.